There are any number of ways one can become an entrepreneur, and there are many ways to earn success as an entrepreneur.

While there may truly be no “one best way” to get there, my belief, based on advice from entrepreneurs I admire and my own journey, is that there is a preferred path to eventually owning the business of your dreams. That path starts with experience.

First, go get some experience in the field in which you want to own your business. For example, if you just know you want to own a coffee shop someday, go work in a coffee shop. While you’re there, strive to move into as many responsibilities as you can so you can learn as much about the business as possible.

If you can obtain a management role, all the better, because then you’ll gain experience in making decisions based on what you’ve learned. And believe me, you’ll learn tons more once you become the one making decisions and then living with the consequences of those decisions, good and bad.

For that matter, go into any “job” with the attitude that you’re there to learn and not only will you gain some invaluable training, you may find how much you enjoy the work actually surprises you.

This is my favorite approach because not only are you earning the crucial experience you need, but because someone else is paying you to earn it!

Education is what you get when you read the fine print. Experience is what you get when you don’t.” – Unknown

Need to write some ad copy? A flyer? A cover letter? An e-mail? Copy for your website?

Here’s a time-honored formula that’s sure to work for you. An oldie but a goodie.

AIDA – Attention, interest, desire, action. Those four hallowed words reverently dictate how you can write persuasive copy. It’s a formula that’s been around for nearly a century and whose usage still echoes in much of the messages you experience today across all media platforms. Here’s a short discussion of the steps involved in the AIDA formula.

Attention – Before any persuasive communication can take place, the attention of the audience has to be captured. This is often referred to as “disruption” because in addition to having many other things on their minds, your audience today is being bombarded with over 3,000 advertising messages every day.

Interest – Gaining attention is one thing, but it’s another to actually secure the audience members interest in your message. This step engages the reader by showing how your offer solves his or her problem or how their life could be better with your solution.

Desire – Once the audience’s interest is established, because they see the value of your offer, the next step is to build their desire by getting them to imagine themselves experiencing the value of “owning” your offer. The benefits. Get them to imagine that better future your product can deliver.

Action – They’re interested, and they want it, so don’t leave them in suspense! Show them how they can get it! The call to action gives the audience member the way to act upon their desire to own what you’re offering, so a good idea is to make is as easy on them as possible. “Click here to order” or “Call now” or “Visit your local showroom today” are examples of calls to action.

Next time you’re listening to the radio, watching TV, browsing the web or your favorite magazine, look closely and you’ll see that adaptations of this formula are still heavily used for a simple reason – they work!